missing them

 If there are two persons I miss not having with me for more time, one is my elder daughter, Shilpa, though it's a relief for her and in a practical sense to us parents too as looking after a severely disabled child though a ( beautiful doll )is not easy and my heart goes out to thousands of senior parents having to look after adult disabled children.

To an extent, our daughter spared us that though we do miss her and will till we die.

The other person I miss sorely though not all the time is my father who left me when I was just ten years old .

The trauma in school days was when teachers asked what my father's doing to all every year beginning later when I needed his counsel and blessings as a father and later as a friend, but my mother more than made up for all that.

But strangely my dad impressed me for life in just ten years.

Even now I remember him and his very intelligent loving eyes he never till he died raised his voice let alone his hand on me or my sister and even reprimanded my mother if she did so.

Love and making me understand my faults were his ways.

His hard work sincerity never doing anything against rules humility above all scholarship in Sanskrit his love for Carnatic music his simple but neat clothes his walking long to save money on bus tickets his never aching for luxury but providing his family the best had impressed me by observation.

He silently taught me so much which would shape my life

Even now I think twice before spending for anything ,I don't mind travelling i public transport ( I need basic comforts of course ) and as far as possible I have genuine and equalneighbors concern for every human being whoever he is

He worked in the Tamilnadu secretariat in Home department and his English noting's in files were even appreciated by ministers I heard ( those were days when English wasn't looked down upon) we lived in Mylapore the center of Brahmin orthodoxy but our neighbors had no qualms to ask doubts in Sanskrit to Nair Sir who would patiently explain .

There was a Vaidyanathaswamy Iyer next house to our,he was working in the postal dept He had a tuft and was very religious .

Swami was one of my dad's ardent admirers,

On my dad's death he even carried his body on shifting, remember this was in the seventies in Mylapore!

There was a rowdy milkman known to drink in the evenings and make a fuss, he was like a pup when he saw my Dad who used to tell him sternly to stop his vile habits.

On my father's death as a ten-year-old, I remember him weeping like a child after garlanding his body telling him he had lost someone who cared and loved him.

I really wish my dad was around

All reactions:

32Parameswari Subramanian, Govind Raj and 30 others

Hinduism

 Long post on Sanatana dharma 

The only good that Udhayanidhi Stalin has done because of his vituperous genocidal hate filled outpouring on a community he knows he is safe to do anything with is the intrest on the word Sanatana Dharma and its meaning by people .

Strangely many Hindus itself still  learn about Sanatanam as Hinduism  has no structured learning of its deep principles like other religions do ,

Its all voluntary in Hinduism from praying to knowing  there are no compulsions .

Naturally those who defame it will tie casteism an aberration which happened in a later form of this oldest religion .

Such aberrations and abominations are seen in every religion and Udhayanidhi knows it too !

In fact there is plenty to talk and change in other religions which no one dares to mention for fear of life or limb ,can anyone deny this !

For seven decades politicians like this family nurtured otherwise useless urchin  have been beating on this dead cow caste and trying to abuse Hindus divide them and reverse discriminate them most unfairly .

Yes caste is still rearing its head in some places but instead of nullifying or banning it politicians nurture it by more selective reservations strengthening it .

Sanatana dharma is beyond caste or aeons before caste 

So stop polluting it as caste based and mixing the two becuae you are ignorant on what it is .

Sanathana dharma is  an eternal principle of living in Hinduism the oldest religion still practiced in the world .

Nowhere does caste come in it .

In fact caste exists in Christianity and Islam as different types of Christians and muslims thier infighting and cult status prove it .

In Kerala marriage between different practioners of christian groups is still frowned upon .

Converted Christians from Hinduism demand thier reservations based on caste to continue 

So stop being superior on being castless !

No one can claim that 

Islam may not have castes but have several sects like Shias Sunnis Ahmediyas who hate each other and are at loggerheads 

So no one needs to lecture Hindu castes 

At least Hondus suffer for thier ancestors practicing caste by reservations based on castes what about others 

So am not at all defensive on caste 

But please don't belittle my Sanatana by mixing caste conveniently 

So having stated all this 

 let me try to explain what it is .

SANATANA DHARMA is an eternal principle of living and foundation of Hinduism .

 It believes life and living things are manifestations  of the primordial almighty called BRAHMAN ( not Brahma ) ,please don't read it as Brahmin and start accusing it as caste intonating .

It's got nothing to do with it .

It's a sanskrit term trying to describe the Almighty a formless powerful all encompassing spiritual reality who cannot be seen but can be felt by his actions ( can we see energy ,electricity but we know it's there ) 

This divine being or Paramaatma ( atmas are souls paramatma is from where souls form and merge ) 

The Brahman exists in a state beyond time and space its creator destroyer and protector of all things living and non living .

Hindus are accused of worshipping thousands of God's, they are ridiculed for praying to animal faced God's, They are abused on rituals rules and orthodoxies by people who dare not open thier mouths on the incongruencies of thier own beliefs .

On the cruel consequences of thier rules on the ill treatment meted out on women and unfair male chauvinism existing .

Hindus have many God's, idols ,prayers slokas rituals only  as symbols  visual aural or psychological references to thier one Supreme being BRAHMAN or ESWARA .

As that thought is very abstract and difficult for every person to understand our ancestors used  symbols to mirror the the one superior being in it .

Hindu temples too are not just constructed without any sense no the principles that go behind a temple is to make it an energy source to those who come to pray there .

Every temple is shaped like a human being prostate on ground and from feet the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum the head there is meaning to everything 

Every syphonated Vedic mantra has its powerful meanings its accent and throw  of sanskrit is meant to create vibration so are its pujas humans etc 

To just portray everything as superstions and myths is done by the ignorant who don't even know thier religion and are so shallow that they can never fathom Sanatana dharma .

They are low beings bent on falsified and setmonising lies to get cheap benifits of power and money .

Hinduism had always faced  such abuses on it over the ages by fanatics who killed and plundered Hindus destroyed temples and it still continues in a different manner but now  with hatred and lies .

Perfection always has envies .

Sanatanam believes all beings and non beings  are made  of five elements 

pancha Mahabhutaas

Earth or Prithvi 

Water or Jala 

Fire or Tejas 

Vayu or wind 

Space or Akasha 

Earth being grossest and Akasa the rarest .

Every living thing is a figment of energy of paramaatma and takes a form of life born in that being  lives its life and goes back to formless only to be reborn based on its karma 

This is called Maya or the unknown for no one knows why this happens .

The ultimate aim of every jeeva is to be free of rebirth and attain moksha or nirvana or merge with God head which happens when there is no more karma to go through in its account .

This jeevatma paramatma karma bhala 

punar janma are the main principles Sanatana dharma espoused and Hindus believe in .

Obviously to attain that one needs a sinless life of love to attain God .

In Human life Sanatana dharma describes four stages

Bramacharyam ..youth before getting married is one of learning devotion to teachers and service to parents 

Grihastam or Housrholder  after marriage as a family person to  get married beget children take care of family and parents and work for society and nation 

Vaanaprastham...during senior life one is supposed to wander in forests trying to leave matireal needs and try to turn to God and good deeds 

Sanyaasam ..last stage in life when all vestiges of self are dropped live only to attain moksha and being selfless and advising society as a learned person .

Sanatana dharma believes in primordial sound Om or AUM and its symbol as ultimate in reality .

So this in short is my understanding of Sanatana dharma a way of life for Hindus .

To abuse and accuse this harmless tolerant community is the worst sin any hypocrite politician can and will do .

In the bargain matireal benifits may come to those who do that but the upholders of this  dharma the Hindus  can only stop supporting such elements which by itself is its greatest weapon .

I would recommend all to read on Sanatana dharmam

trip to Kaavalam

Me and Pramodh decided to spend a day in our famed backwaters.

So we drove to Allepey had breakfast In the Brothers Hotel ( since 1973 )..will post separately.

Later we reached Boat jetty of State Inland Transport Dept .

For decades the Boats are being run to many places like Kottayam ,Kollam ,pathiramanal Kumarakom , and places in Kuttanad like Kaavalamill-painted.

The boats are ill painted like KSRTC buses.

But it was comfortable and seats were plenty.

We were going to Kavalam in Kuttanad.

Kavalam is birth place of kavalam Narayana Panicker. Musician and dramatist .

It just cost 22 Rs for the one and half-hour tri.

It was very breezy though the sun was quite hot.

We just wanted to go to some quaint shop that served good food and toddy so we asked the conductor who told us to get down at Rajapuram .

When place came he told us to walk along the bank and we would see it!

We knew the same boat would return by 2.20 pm .

So we walked along the banks

at places it was dangerously narrow and with big loose stones a single mistake we would be in the backwate

Luckily we reached the shop without any accident.

We were given a table with a nice view .

We ordered some prawns roast as a starter and parotta and Appam with nadan chicken curry and one glass of Mundiri toddy or kallu

The food was delicious the toddy too was tasty and fresh.

Since a toddy has only around 8.1 % of alcohol it's more like a Breezer and one glass just quenched one's thirst but we stopped with that.

The food was good though the chicken was chewy and appeared old!

So we respected it and left it alone.

After this, we gingerly made our way back and got back into our boat.

Kuttanad is low-lying and is rice bowl of Kerala its 11 mts below sea level is said .

There is usually one harvest in a year, during monsoons fields are flooded.

Many houses on banks are on pillars with nothing in the ground floor as during floods its safer for them

But still monsoon floods many houses and we saw some community kitchens.

Many used these boats to go to work and tourists are rare in these boats.

The backwaters is full of house boats.

The only thing we missed was the rain as it was hot and sticky when no breeze.

We returned to Allepey and to Cochin later

 

Brothers Hotel Allepey

Warning ...long post

This is a food post Iam sure most of you will enjoy .

Food is something that's part of most of us but for some its more than it too .

We all remember the food we had ,food as children prepared by our mother is dear to us ,food which made us happy always has associated memories .

Like music food melds nostalgia with it.

When we listen to an old film song we go back to our memories associated with it , we remember the people whom we knew in the realm of that song, some songs are special as they touch the chords of love and romance in us transporting us to years back,

similarly, some food touches the happiness spot in you and takes you back like a time machine.

When it comes to Alapuzha ( Allepey or Allapuzha in Malayalam is a coastal city called Venice of Kerala 50 km south of Cochin )most remember the food there.

Though I lived in Madras in childhood with no connection to south Kerala food, mostly sea food, I developed a taste for Kerala cuisine.

ther home we used to take more of food by my mother made like in her tharavad with lot of coconut ,vartharacha sambhar, mostly vegetarian and rarely varatha aracha mutton curry ,I never knew Beef was food !!

or tasted no sea food as we lived in Mylapore a Brahmin dense area and frying fish was blasphemy an abaswaram or almost a criminal offence

so mother made typical veg dishes blended from kerala and Madras Maamis styles with a rare mutton dish )

Only after settling down in Kerala at 26 years I realized Kerala cuisine was so vast and tasty .

I love Beef too,though we still don't make it at home,

Duck rabbit and sea food which Iam still not passionate about egg roast and of course parotta the symbol of ill health byPuritanss but loved by rest pittu Aaapam nool pittu dosas etc etc .

Though I prefer Basmati rice made Dum Biriyani to the kaima rice made modified neychoru termed Biriyani in Kerala I enjoy it too and I love Kerala fish curry meals.

I willingly wanted a lengthy intro on my food culture before this important post on BROTHERS Restaurant in Allepey town since 1973 .

Though I had gone earlier and had Biriyani it was on a stop over in a drive from Trivandrum but it was during Covid times the items were limited and eating in restaurants with all the masked people looking scared was just not the same .

So when me and Pramodh my co brother drove to Allepey to explore the backwaters we debated to either go to Coffee house or to Brothers restaurant and settled on the latter .

Right in the middle of the town one could get into hotel parking lot through a bottleneck entry or park on road ,luckily after opening Allepey bye pass more than 50 % traffic through town has come down .

The quaint old town with roomed houses had more relaxed roads these days and the antics of an ancient traffic police man amused us !

The Brothers has an aura of hallowness in its structure of a roomed cottage almost like entering into the seventies.

At 9.30 am on a Monday morning, the place was almost full.

It was neat and had well-placed tables wash and rest room.

The walls had lot of pictures of celebrities who visited there almost a who-is-who from all walks of life who had meandered in .

Most had happy countenances probably pictures taken after they had food here.

And several testimonials and remarks by celebrities mostly from the film world caught in camera as pictures.

Later on reading I realised how many relationships Malayalam films and Brothers had!

When Madhavan pilla and Ayyappan pilla Brothers decided to start a hotel way back in the seventies they obviously called it Brothers.

That was the time when Allepey thanks to the Appachan group and Kunjacko was making Allepey the Malayalam film capital shifting slowly from Kodambakkam in Madras.

Though that shift to Kerala would take decades more Malayalam films were planned and scripted and many shot in and around Allepey .

Most actors too hailing from South Kerala adopted to it naturally.

Allepey being on Highway to the south from the north was also a stopping place for food and stay.

By then Brothers had started a lodge too.

Many film people had discussions here, many actors stayed here many scripts were written here.

Room 19 is still famous with film people as it had a lucky charm, most films scripted or discussed here went on to become huge hits.

It was the era of Malayalam films breaking on its own with classics like Chemeen and there was a lot of excitement to film more of Kerala in its rusticness in those films instead of staid sets in Kodambakkam studios!

Coming back to the food we ordered the famous mutton curry, egg roast parotta and aapam and tea.

This place is well known for its duck roast too.

In fact, the duck was not served here at all, though ducks are very common here with backwaters around.

Once cameraman Sukumaran staying here for a film brought back a live duck from his shooting spot and requested the Brothers to cook it, though hesitant they cooked a delicious duck roast, from then there was no looking back this became the signature dish of the Brothers.

The food we ordered was splendid.

The Oscar went to the delicious mutton roast which had tender pieces falling off the bone blended in spices.

The gravy was rich tasty and took us to culinary nirvana.

The parottas were fresh warm fluffy and crisp with a tinge of sweetness

The Appams were fresh warm soft succulent and seductive in its satin smoothness and egg roast too was excellent above all the tea was just perfectly made.

Evening too one return before driving to Ernakulam though not hungry we returned to Brothers to close the day where we started and had just tea and delicious sweet banana fritters.

So when in Allepey don't miss Brothers.

Incidentally, they have a big list of vegetarian dishes too like dosas or meals but the star items are still nonveg.

+26

All reactions:

10O Madhu Menon, Govind Raj and 8 others

 

Pubs in Cochin !

 

If there is one thing Kerala needs to learn its social drinking.

People here with exceptions think drinking is equal to binge drinking making fools of themselves and big mess getting into fights in smoky bars.

They do not know in many countries pubs are not crowded dance places with bouncers and girls dancing with young men on all kinds of stuff, its just a quiet place where one can sit over a drink for an hour or more watching people and having some food or meeting an old friend and to talk over a drink.

Being a tourist state Kerala needs to have such places.

Of course I am against driving even after one drink so one should either use public transport or Uber or have a driver

These days drive back apps are there too

Somehow that fun is not in Kerala where even people conclude one is a drunk to even write a post like this!

I recollect Kuala Lumpur which is a great city @ to me where I had a few days to kill and I would go to a roadside pub in happy hours nurse a mojito and get a marguerite for the same price have some burger and fries and keep watching as the busy roads run in front like a film.

Very few people were in the pub at that time and then I would walk back to my hotel

Another place I enjoyed was in New York in a Manhattan bar in frigid December where I sat on a high stool sipping a Manhattan cocktail.

With imposing black Americans standing around slit-gowned ladies in high heels and coiffured gentlemen in Levi's

I felt like I was inside a Hollywood film.

People there just leave you alone to have your fun without any hassles no moralizing crowds and the barman even clicked a picture of myself I remember thanking him and he told u r welcome sir enjoy your drink